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Saturday, December 29

Murder in the Cathedral

It’s rare to know what was happening on this day 843 years ago. It’s even rarer to know what was happening at a specific time of
day. But we do. For on 29 December 1170, as Vespers were being sung in
Canterbury Cathedral, a group of knights forced their way in and brutally
murdered the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. My novel, The Fifth Knight, is based on this
infamous historical event.

My take on Becket's murder- including The Fifth Knight Image courtesy of Andrew Savill

In the course of writing my novel, I researched Becket’s
life and found an intriguing individual. Born around 1118 to Norman French
parents, he rose to archdeacon in the church. He was known for his brilliant
mind, described as ‘winning…in his conversation and frank of speech in his
discourses.’ He had a slight stutter, particularly when his emotions were
aroused. He had a gift for managing delicate negotiations. When King Henry II
was seeking a new chancellor, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald,
recommended Becket.

Theobald
had hoped that Becket would be a strong ally for the church, but Becket took to
court life with great flair, keeping apartments that were finer than Henry’s.
He demonstrated skill in hunting and loved to wear the finest of clothes. More
importantly, he became the closest of friends and allies with the younger (by
twelve years) Henry. It is recorded that people spoke of them having ‘one heart
and one mind.’

When
Theobald died in 1161, Henry appointed Becket to be his new Archbishop of
Canterbury. In doing so, he passed over far more experienced clerics and it is
believed he appointed Becket to increase his own influence and hold over the
church. But Henry, like Theobald before him, was to be disappointed. Becket was
nobody’s pawn. Instead, he threw himself into his new role in the church.
Within weeks, he had resigned as chancellor. He began to work as hard in his
role in the church as he had at court. He wore a hair shirt under his robes (discovered
after his death), took cold baths as penance and washed the feet of 30 paupers
every day.

It
wasn’t long before Becket came into conflict with Henry. The justice system of
the time meant there were two courts of law: one for the church, one for the
state. Clerics were tried in church courts, which did not have the death
penalty, even for murder. And the church, through its independence, could
criticise the monarch. Becket resisted royal demands for change, a decision
that cost him his life.

In
my novel, I follow many of the records of Becket’s death. These scenes were
very difficult to write, for by then, I had come to know and admire so much
about Becket. His death was particularly savage, with his skull carved in two, shattered
from a knight’s sword blow. But if I, over 800 years later found it hard to
re-tell, it is even harder to fully grasp the shock and outrage of society at
the time. People’s belief in the church was absolute. The idea of the
archbishop being murdered was difficult enough, but for it to happen in his own
cathedral was unthinkable.

Becket’s
murder was viewed as martyrdom, that he died defending his faith. Miracles were
attributed to him immediately. The cloths stained with his blood brought cures
to local women. The monks brought Becket’s body to the crypt and kept guard
over it, fearful that the king would try and have it removed. As people came to
see the body, the monks recorded any miracles attributed to Becket. The
archbishop’s broken skull was put on view. An astonishing 100,000 people came
to pray and visit Canterbury Cathedral in 1171 alone. The attributed miracles mounted up and in ten
years, there were a total of 703 recorded. Becket’s intercession was in
healing, casting out demons. He was prayed to by women in childbirth. When
Queen Eleanor, the wife of King Henry III was expecting her fourth child, 1,000
candles were lit around Becket’s shrine.

Becket
was canonized in 1173 and his popularity as a saint grew. Canterbury became
hugely popular for pilgrims. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his famous ‘Canterbury
Tales’ about pilgrims, and he calls
Becket the ‘holy, blessed martyr’. Myths grew up around Becket. One woman
claimed she had taught a bird to pray to the saint. When the bird was hunted by
a hawk, it sang out Becket’s name and was released. A story circulated that
while Becket was alive, he needed a woman to mend his clothes while on his
travels. The woman that did so in a convent mysteriously disappeared after
completing her task. The woman was deemed to be Our Lady.

And
what of Henry, the king whose supposed utterance of ‘who will rid me of this
meddlesome priest?’ set the murder in motion? Henry had to give in on the
matter of church courts. He also performed a number of acts of penance for the
man who had been his dear friend. The most extreme was on the streets of
Canterbury on 12 July 1174, where he was scourged by eighty monks before
spending the night praying at Becket’s tomb. In death, Becket had been
victorious.

Saint
Thomas Becket was a venerated saint for the next four hundred years. Until the
arrival of another King Henry, Henry VIII. This Henry was going to take on the
church. When he achieved his aim of total control of the church, Henry VIII
denounced Becket as a traitor. Becket’s shrine was destroyed, his bones were
burned and the mention of his name was outlawed.

But
Henry didn’t manage to erase Becket. People continued in their devotion to him
as a saint. Today, Canterbury Cathedral still marks the place of Becket’s
martyrdom and thousands continue to visit every year. Think of him today, at
day’s close.

The Fifth Knightis a #1 Bestseller in Action & Adventure and Historical on Amazon.com.

Sir Benedict Palmer returns to Germany on November 1 2016!

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About Me

E.M. Powell’s medieval thrillers THE FIFTH KNIGHT and THE BLOOD OF THE FIFTH KNIGHT have been #1 Amazon bestsellers and a Bild bestseller in Germany. Book #3 in the series, THE LORD OF IRELAND, was published by Thomas & Mercer on April 5 2016. Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State), she now lives in northwest England with her husband, daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog. She is also a contributing editor to International Thriller Writers The Big Thrill magazine, blogs for English Historical Fiction Authors, reviews fiction & non-fiction for the Historical Novel Society and is part of the HNS Social Media Team. Find out more by visiting www.empowell.com.